2024-25 Regular Season Thread

[Wham with the Right Hand]

We strive for perfection. We know we can do better than what we did. We know exactly what areas we have to be better at—- We just want to be the best team we can be and tonight was not that performance for us. - Jarrett Allen after the Raptors game

Love to see them saying we need to get better and we know exactly what areas need to improve. They're reaching too much defending drives and getting called for a lot of fouls. They are 3rd worst in opponents' 3-point shooting percentage. They are near the bottom in allowing uncontested 3-point shots. So their defense needs to improve both on the perimeter and on the drive.

Also, Kenny says he only has 70% of the offense installed and now that they are heading into a stretch of the schedule where they'll have more off days they can start doing that. So hopefully in a couple of weeks both the offense and defense will be better.

Finally, we'll be getting Wade, LeVert, and Strus back at some point, hopefully very soon for the first two. So going into 2025, if not sooner, we should have more offensive options, better defense, and better personnel. Pretty scary for the rest of the league considering we're 17-1 with a compressed schedule, no Strus, LeVert and Wade missing some games, and the whole offense not yet installed.

 

[jjvors]

Guess which two Cavs made the NBA Top Ten from the Raptor's game?

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

From The Athletic's column on Nikola Jokic:

For the season, the Nuggets have a championship-caliber plus-13.6 net rating when Jokić is on the court … and a tanktacular minus-16.9 net rating when he’s off. (Actually, that’s an insult to tanking teams — even the Wizards are only minus-14.2.)

That unfathomable 30.5-point difference between the Nuggets with and without Jokić has been an enduring feature of the last half-decade...

More amazingly for a player most renowned as a brilliant passer, consider that Jokić also has a chance to win the scoring title. That’s the least likely of these potential feats, I should say, as Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is ahead of the pack at 32.4. Jokić’s 30.2 per game is barely fending off LaMelo Ball (30.2) and Davis (30.1) for second.

Nonetheless, it feels utterly insane to look at the three paragraphs above and realize Jokić has a chance to win the triple crown, leading the league in points, rebounds and assists per game. This ain’t baseball, folks: Nobody has ever come close, to the point that nobody even talks about this. Yet Jokić is first or second in all three categories; no player in NBA history has finished a season in the top three in per-game averages for each...

[Russell] Westbrook’s record for triple-doubles in a season is 42. Given that Jokić is averaging a triple-double rather comfortably and still has 67 games left, you have to think that one is in his sights as well. He already has seven, which places his campaign in the top 100 in NBA history even if he shut down his season on Nov. 24.

And hey, remember when we said the Nuggets had no shooting? Jokić devised a cure for that problem: He became the shooter. He had shied away from 3-point attempts in past seasons but is launching a career high 4.0 per game; he’s also hitting a staggering 56.3 percent of them...

His 33.2 PER thus far would set an NBA record. He’s missed 20 percent of the schedule and still leads the league in win shares. His 15.0 BPM (box plus/minus) would also be the highest ever recorded, breaking his own record set in 2021-22. (Jokić’s last four seasons are four of the top six marks in history in BPM.)...

Jokić is already threatening to make the MVP race a runaway. The best player of this decade is on track to have his best season ever, and it could be historic on several levels.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Watch out for the Magic, who have figured out how to win without Banchero. They're now ranked 7th in The Athletic's power poll.

The Magic have injuries at power forward (Paolo Banchero), center (Wendell Carter Jr.) and point guard (Jalen Suggs). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed as a free agent and is shooting 22.4 percent from 3. But [Franz] Wagner has been a steady and consistent force while allowing Orlando to maintain its size advantage defensively. He is leading a Magic team that has won nine of its past 10 games.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Eight games until the NBA Cup playoffs start Dec. 10. Here are the Cavs' opponents, in order.

Atlanta (H). Ranked 23rd, 3-6 on the road.
Atlanta (A). 4-5 at home.
Boston (H), Ranked 1, 8-1 on the road.
Washington (H). Ranked 30, 1-7 on the road.
Denver (H). Ranked 11, 4-3 on the road.
Charlotte (A). Ranked 24, 5-4 at home.
Miami (A). Ranked 15, 3-3 at home.

Obviously Boston will be tough with Porzingis back. He had 16 points in 23 minutes last night as the Celtics buried the Clippers by 32.

But otherwise the rest of the schedule looks very winnable, with Denver presenting a challenge, but even the Nuggets are one game over .500 on the road. We should have Wade and LeVert back by then, I assume.

Miami is average and the rest of the teams are ranked 23-30.

 

[2 For The Brew]

From The Athletic's column on Nikola Jokic:

For the season, the Nuggets have a championship-caliber plus-13.6 net rating when Jokić is on the court … and a tanktacular minus-16.9 net rating when he’s off. (Actually, that’s an insult to tanking teams — even the Wizards are only minus-14.2.)

That unfathomable 30.5-point difference between the Nuggets with and without Jokić has been an enduring feature of the last half-decade...

More amazingly for a player most renowned as a brilliant passer, consider that Jokić also has a chance to win the scoring title. That’s the least likely of these potential feats, I should say, as Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is ahead of the pack at 32.4. Jokić’s 30.2 per game is barely fending off LaMelo Ball (30.2) and Davis (30.1) for second.

Nonetheless, it feels utterly insane to look at the three paragraphs above and realize Jokić has a chance to win the triple crown, leading the league in points, rebounds and assists per game. This ain’t baseball, folks: Nobody has ever come close, to the point that nobody even talks about this. Yet Jokić is first or second in all three categories; no player in NBA history has finished a season in the top three in per-game averages for each...

[Russell] Westbrook’s record for triple-doubles in a season is 42. Given that Jokić is averaging a triple-double rather comfortably and still has 67 games left, you have to think that one is in his sights as well. He already has seven, which places his campaign in the top 100 in NBA history even if he shut down his season on Nov. 24.

And hey, remember when we said the Nuggets had no shooting? Jokić devised a cure for that problem: He became the shooter. He had shied away from 3-point attempts in past seasons but is launching a career high 4.0 per game; he’s also hitting a staggering 56.3 percent of them...

His 33.2 PER thus far would set an NBA record. He’s missed 20 percent of the schedule and still leads the league in win shares. His 15.0 BPM (box plus/minus) would also be the highest ever recorded, breaking his own record set in 2021-22. (Jokić’s last four seasons are four of the top six marks in history in BPM.)...

Jokić is already threatening to make the MVP race a runaway. The best player of this decade is on track to have his best season ever, and it could be historic on several levels.

If due to injuries he only plays 64 games and misses all postseason awards while leading the NBA in all three categories that would be absolutely ridiculous.

20% missed games would put him at 65 for the season.

You let the voters vote and don’t put in silly disqualifying rules. Kareem won the MVP in 1975-76 even though the Lakers finished 40-42 and missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker. He was far and away the best player in the game and the voters rightfully recognized him.

Would you rather have the Joker for 64 games or any other player for 82?

 

[pinoycavsfan]

Watch out for the Magic, who have figured out how to win without Banchero. They're now ranked 7th in The Athletic's power poll.

The Magic have injuries at power forward (Paolo Banchero), center (Wendell Carter Jr.) and point guard (Jalen Suggs). Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signed as a free agent and is shooting 22.4 percent from 3. But [Franz] Wagner has been a steady and consistent force while allowing Orlando to maintain its size advantage defensively. He is leading a Magic team that has won nine of its past 10 games.

Watched Orlando vs Charlotte yesterday. Magic play very physical defense borderline dirty. Cant score but will be tough to score on.

Im a bit worried playing against them in the playoffs. Last year Cavs can sag off Wagner but now he has found his stroke add to that a potentially rested and healthy Banchero. Cavs need another Dean Wade like wing just so we can match up with them defensively.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

Agree - Orlando will be a problem for teams in the playoffs. Series will be a brutal slugfest, winner coming out of it likely torn and tattered. Keep them on Boston's side of the bracket please.

 

[rastamon87]

Agree - Orlando will be a problem for teams in the playoffs. Series will be a brutal slugfest, winner coming out of it likely torn and tattered. Keep them on Boston's side of the bracket please.

Orlando matches up well against the Cavs if both Banchero & Wagner are healthy.... it's like the battle of twin towers, defensive vs offensive twins....

 

[MrX]

Wow this is crazy!

Cavs plus-minus leaders with league rank

Rank	Player	Plus-minus
3	Evan Mobley	168
7	Caris LeVert	149
9	Darius Garland	131
10	Donovan Mitchell	122
15	Ty Jerome	113
16	Jarrett Allen	108
20	Georges Niang	103

 

[DanielHSSports]

Wade and LeVert are each listed as OUT again but there's not much clarity on their injury updates. Again the FO is doing everything it can to try to conceal the true nature of their injuries and the local media is not doing much to investigate

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Wade and LeVert are each listed as OUT again but there's not much clarity on their injury updates. Again the FO is doing everything it can to try to conceal the true nature of their injuries and the local media is not doing much to investigate

They've said that Dean sprained his ankle, and LaVert has inflammation in his knee. How do we know that isn't true?

 

[avs2000]

They've said that Dean sprained his ankle, and LaVert has inflammation in his knee. How do we know that isn't true?

Sorry. Not related. But if had to follow a team with Anthony Davis and lbj I’d consider desperate measures. Horrific

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Orlando matches up well against the Cavs if both Banchero & Wagner are healthy.... it's like the battle of twin towers, defensive vs offensive twins....

Orlando matches up with us even better after they take out Jarrett Allen with a cheap shot.

 

[Mott the Hoople]

Here is an excerpt from the F5. It talks about how often teams play in the bonus. The Cavs are in the middle of the pack. That surprised me. I thought it would be lower.

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more ​ Bonus Boys​ Plus an interview with a NBA truth seeker​ Owen Phillips Nov 27 ​ ​ ​ ​ READ IN APP​ This is The F5, a twice-weekly newsletter that helps readers be less wrong about the NBA. If you enjoy it, think its interesting, or want to learn how to make the visualizations you find in this newsletter (below), please consider a paid subscription! Upgrade to paid One of my favorite stats to track over the course of the season is how often NBA offenses are in the bonus. On average, getting into the bonus is worth about two points of Offensive Rating. So the more time your team can spend in the bonus the more efficient your team will be overall. In the chart below I’ve mapped out how often each team is spending in the bonus this season compared to last season ​ What Denver lost in spacing when they replaced Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with Christian Braun they gained in bonus equity. Braun, unlike Pope, gets to the rim and puts pressure on the opposing team to defend without fouling. This season, Braun is averaging double the amount of free throws per game compared to Pope last season. Additionally, Russell Westbrook’s flurry of activity contributes to Nuggets leading the league in bonus time, which neatly matches up with a decline in the Clippers bonus activity. Meanwhile, I think one reason the Lakers have a top five offense despite their inherent roster flaws is by getting into the bonus early and staying there. The Lakers have a 117.2 Offensive Rating on the season, but that number balloons to 121.6 when they are in the bonus, according to pbpstats.com. Another way of thinking about this is that the Lakers play like an average offense when they’re not in the bonus but turn into one the league’s most lethal offenses when they are. Lastly, the Bucks have an average offense this season and I think a big reason for that is that they don’t rack up easy points by being the bonus. As of this writing, they’re 27th in time spent in the bonus. That’s in stark contrast to last season where the Bucks spent more time in the bonus than all but one team (Orlando).​